Textual Integrity In 'A Study In Scarlet' And Edgar

It is to a great extent in which significant texts from all genres emerge from their context and have textual integrity. A text obtains textual integrity by proving its relevance not only at the time of its creation, but also in the present. This is clearly reflected in both Arthur. C . Doyle’s ‘A Study in Scarlet’ and Edgar. A. Poes’s ‘The Tell-Tale Heart’ as both these prominent texts were influenced and shaped by the ever-changing society of the time. The Victorian Era was period of rapid scientific advancements and altering social behaviours. Literature of the Victorian Era continued to explore the fears and anxieties of society which included social regression and treats to social order. These texts gain their textual integrity from their

Insanity and madness was not accepted in society during the Victorian era because it proved a threat to the development of society. The fear of insanity Is explored throughout the whole of Edgar. A. Poe’s story, ‘The Tell-Tale Heart’ , through the behaviour of the narrator. The delusional man begins his story by describing his nervousness saying “True! – nervous – very, very dreadfully nervous.” This sentence is written in a fractured manner to depict madness and paranoia. In the Victorian period, this abnormal psychological behaviour was not accepted in fear of social regression. Those who could not become functioning members of society were disliked as they would lead them down a path of reverting social behaviours. The reader can further see the persona’s madness after he explains his reasoning for his desire to kill the old man “His eye was like the eye of a vulture, the eye of one of those terrible birds that watch and wait while an animal dies,”. The narrator repeats ‘his eye’, emphasising his obsession with it. It is irrational that a man has absolutely no control over his actions and is driven to the act of murder due to an ‘eye’. This abnormal behaviour once again threatens the peace of Victorian society. The relevance of this to today’s society is that social order is a necessary part of it, any threats to it could have a devastating impact on our currently

During the industrial revolution, new technology would assist detectives in their deductions and therefore serve justice to culprits more frequently. Sherlock Holmes is first revealed to Watson and the reader working hard in his laboratory on a chemical discovery that would forever change the work of a detective, “His linen or clothes are examined, and brownish stains discovered upon them. Are they blood stains, or mud stains, or rust stains, or fruit stains, or what are they?...Now we have the Sherlock Holmes test, and there will no longer be any difficulty”. The repetition of ‘or’ proves the limitless possibilities and benefits science can bring. The law enforcement will no longer be incapable of bringing criminals to justice with the invention of new technology and methods by science. Furthermore, due to technological advancements, the Victorian Era saw a dramatic increase of the printing press which allowed information and knowledge to be spread across immense distances. This is used to Sherlock’s advantage when he states “Look at this advertisement,” …”I had one sent to every paper this morning immediately after the affair.” The ability of the newspapers to be delivered all across the vast city of London is symbolic of the wide reach the impact of science has on society and its capability to aid detective work. Every person in the city had been influenced by, or at